MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. It would be more preferable to influence capital flows and the ruble exchange rate through economic measures, but at the same time the Bank of Russia is discussing currency regulations, Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said at a press conference following a meeting of the regulator's board of directors.
"If there is a need to influence capital flows that affect the exchange rate, it would be more preferable to use economic rather than administrative measures. Administrative actions, in my opinion, should be limited to reciprocal measures. Economic measures imply increasing the attractiveness of ruble savings by creating incentives for businesses to sell proceeds to pay operating expenses such as taxes and wages rather than taking out excess borrowings," she explained.
According to Nabiullina, discussions about the possible implementation of additional currency controls and currency restrictions are also in progress. However, strict restrictions similar to those implemented last year should not be expected to produce the same results, because they were not the only ones who had an impact on the ruble's exchange rate
Nabiullina noted, capital outflow is one of the causes contributing to the ruble's depreciation, although it is not the most significant. At the same time, the widely debated proposal to reinstate selling foreign currency earnings by exporters will have little impact on the exchange rate, she noted.
At the same time, the Bank of Russia has no "psychological" limit on the ruble exchange rate, it is free to fluctuate. According to Nabiullina, the regulator sees the depreciation of the ruble exchange rate as a pro-inflationary factor. She also stated that, despite the dynamics and high volatility of the exchange rate, the Bank of Russia does not regard the weakening of the ruble as a threat to financial stability.
Nabiullina also noted that one of the reasons for the Bank of Russia to raise the key rate was the weakening of the ruble. Earlier on Friday, the Bank of Russia raised the key rate by 100 basis points to 13% per annum and said it would consider the feasibility of its further increase at upcoming meetings. The Bank of Russia Board of Directors will hold its next rate review meeting on October 27.